The short answer
Before you plan a wedding in another country, find out from official sources whether you can marry there and whether the marriage will be recognized where you live. Ask that country’s marriage authority or its embassy or consulate, and the office that records marriages at home. You can also marry at home and celebrate abroad, so decide which you are doing before you book anything.
What are the two questions to answer first?
The first question is whether you can marry in that country at all, as the people you are. Its marriage authority decides who may marry there, what you are asked to show, how long you are asked to be there beforehand and who may perform the ceremony. The second is whether a marriage made there will be recognized where you live, which is for your home country’s authorities to say, not the country you travel to.
Ask each question of the people who can answer it. For the first, that is the country’s marriage authority, its embassy or consulate in your country, or the official tourism or civil registry pages it points you to. For the second, ask the office that records marriages where you live, and your own government’s consular service if you are citizens of different countries. Write each answer down with its source and date.
- Whether the two of you can marry in that country
- Who performs a ceremony there that the country records
- Whether a marriage there is recognized where you live
- What you must do at home afterward to record it, if anything
- The official pages or offices each answer came from
Which documents might the country ask for?
Ask the country’s authority for its own list rather than relying on a summary, because the documents, their age and their form can change. Ask whether it wants originals or certified copies, whether a document must have been issued within a set time before the wedding, and whether it needs a translation or a certificate of authenticity, such as an apostille, and who may provide them.
Then work back from the answers. A birth certificate, a document about a previous marriage or a statement that you are free to marry may come from different offices, each with its own processing time. List each document, the office that issues it, how long it takes and the date you will ask for it, and keep scans of everything you send.
- Passports, and how long they must be valid
- Birth certificates, and how recently issued
- Anything about a previous marriage, for either of you
- Any statement that you are free to marry
- Translations, and who may provide them
- Certificates of authenticity, such as an apostille
How long do you need to be there, and when?
Ask whether the country asks you to be there for a set time before the wedding, to give notice in advance, or to appear in person at an office before the ceremony. Each of those answers sets a date you have to be in the country, and they decide your flights and accommodation as much as the ceremony does.
Ask about office hours and closures around your date, and how appointments are booked. If an answer leaves you with less time than you can take off work, consider marrying at home and holding a celebration abroad instead, which separates the paperwork from the trip.
Who can perform the ceremony abroad?
Ask the authority which ceremonies it records: a civil ceremony by a registrar or official, a religious ceremony by an officiant it recognizes, or both. A ceremony led by someone the country does not record may be meaningful to you and still not create a marriage there, so ask before you book the person you want.
If the ceremony you want would not be recorded, you can hold it as a symbolic ceremony and marry separately, at home or at an office there. Say which it is in the invitation and the program, so guests know what they are attending, and tell the venue and photographer which ceremony is which if both happen on the same trip.
Should you marry at home first and celebrate abroad?
Marrying at home first is one option, not a rule. It puts the license and the record where you already know who to ask, and leaves the celebration abroad free of residency, documents and translation. The courthouse wedding guide covers planning a short ceremony at home and a celebration on another day.
If you do, decide which date you will treat as your anniversary and how you will word the invitation, for example a celebration of a marriage that has already taken place. If you marry abroad instead, ask the home office how to record the marriage when you return, and how long that takes, before you plan a name change or other updates.
What changes in the vendor contracts for a wedding abroad?
Read each contract for the currency it charges in, how you pay and who pays any transfer or card charges, and the language the contract is written in. If you sign a translation, ask which version governs if they disagree. Note the time zone the contract’s deadlines use, and put each deadline on your calendar in your own time.
Check what happens if travel is disrupted: cancellation, date-change and refund terms, and whether the vendor’s own travel is included. The destination wedding contracts guide covers these questions in detail, and the payment calendar tool puts the deposit dates you enter on one calendar.
Marrying abroad: questions and answers
Use one row for a decision or deliverable. Keep unanswered items visible. Download the blank worksheet to open in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
On a small screen, swipe the worksheet sideways to see the remaining columns.
| Question | Who to ask | Answer | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can we marry in this country | — | — | — |
| Will home recognize the marriage | — | — | — |
| Documents the country asks for | — | — | — |
| Translations or certificates of authenticity | — | — | — |
| Time in the country before the wedding | — | — | — |
| Who performs a recorded ceremony | — | — | — |
| How to record the marriage at home | — | — | — |
| Currency and payment terms in contracts | — | — | — |
A message you can make your own
Change the wording to suit you, fill in anything in brackets and keep the questions that apply. You decide what to send and send it yourself.
Hello, we are planning to marry in [country] on or around [date]. One of us is a citizen of [country] and the other of [country], and we live in [country]. Could you tell us what is needed for a marriage to take place there, including any documents, translations, time in the country beforehand or notice, and who may perform a ceremony that is recorded? If there is an official page that explains this, a link would help us. Thank you.
Common questions
Will a marriage abroad be recognized at home?
Whether a marriage abroad is recognized at home is for your home country’s authorities to say, and it can depend on where you marry and how. Ask the office that records marriages where you live, and your government’s consular service if you are citizens of different countries. Ask before you book, and keep the answer with its date.
Do you need to be a resident to marry in another country?
Whether you need to be a resident, or to be in the country for a set time beforehand, is set by that country’s marriage authority. Ask it, or its embassy or consulate, directly. The answer decides your travel dates, so put the date you need to arrive on your calendar as soon as you have it.
Do documents for a wedding abroad need to be translated?
Whether documents for a wedding abroad need translating, and by whom, is for the country’s authority to say. Ask whether it accepts a translation from anyone or only a certified translator, and whether the originals also need a certificate of authenticity, such as an apostille. Then add each step’s time to your plan.
Can you have a symbolic ceremony abroad?
A symbolic ceremony abroad is one the country does not record as a marriage, held alongside a marriage made at home or at an office. It lets you choose the setting and the person leading it freely. Say in the invitation and program that it is a celebration, and keep the dates of both straight.
Who should you believe if two official answers disagree?
If two official answers disagree, go back to each source with the other’s answer and ask which applies to you, in writing. A consulate and a civil registry can answer for different situations. Keep both answers, their dates and who gave them, and ask a qualified professional if the difference still matters.